PHILADELPHIA – Offense reigned supreme as St. Joseph's Prep took on the Lions of Cardinal O'Hara. The Hawks beat the Lions 72-43.
“It was a must win for us,” St. Joseph Prep guard Kyle Thompson said following their win over Cardinal O’Hara. “It’s definitely a big win because coming into today’s game, O’Hara, even though they were 0-7, they were probably one of the best 0-7 teams that we will ever play. We knew they were going to come out and play us tough and I’m just happy we got the W.”
SJP vs. O'Hara
The game started off much different than it had ended at St. Joseph’s Prep’s Kelly Fieldhouse. O’Hara began this game on top and jumped out to a quick lead. Thompson and the Hawks took a little time to adjust to the fast pace offense of O’Hara. However, once Thompson hit his first three-pointer, it was essentially the Prep’s game to lose.
St. Joseph’s Prep Edward Croswell battles in the paint - photo by Serenity Bishop
Thompson exploited a weakness in O’Hara’s defense; defending the deep ball. Out of the Hawks’ 27-first-quarter-points, 15 were results of hitting the three-ball. Not only did Thompson hit three three-pointers himself, but teammates Darius Kinnel and Brian Griffin both hit one from behind the three-point line. The Hawks jumped out to a 13-pont lead to end the quarter and never looked back.
In the second quarter, O’Hara’s guard Jaye’Lyn Peebles decided that his team would not go down without a fight. The Lions toughened up on defense and stopped the Hawks from scoring. Ironically, St. Joseph did the same thing. It wasn’t until 3:20 left in the quarter, that both teams started to take advantage of their offensive skills. Peebles scored every point for the Lions during the second quarter and to prove that he was going to be even tougher to stop in the next half, Peebles hit a deep three buzzer beater to close out the half.
Cardinal O’Hara’s Taseer Jones playing defense on St. Joseph’s Prep's Darius Kinnel - photo by Serenity Bishop
Down by 16, O’Hara came out of the locker-room confident despite the deficit. Peebles charged down the court and went up strong to the basket, but was rejected by St. Joseph’s center Edward Croswell. Out on the fast break, the ball ended up back in the hands of Kyle Thompson and like before, he hit another three. O’Hara responded right back with a three-pointer of their own from Garrett Ripp.
Both teams traded steals and points back and forth until Hawks head coach Speedy Morris called a timeout. After that, St. Joseph Prep coasted to a 29-point victory.
“St. Joseph is playing really well. They’re a good team and well coached,” said O’Hara’s head coach Jason Harrigan “It’s difficult when you play teams like this, but hats off to them. They defended Peebles well, they were prepared. “
For the Hawks, Thompson led the team with 27-points and Croswell dominated the low-post with nine rebounds and 13-points. For O’Hara, Peebles accounted for 12-points and Ripp led the team with 14-points.
Looking Ahead: Cardinal O’Hara will travel to face Father Judge at 3PM on Sunday, Jan. 29. SJP’s next PCL match-up will be at home against Bishop McDevitt on Monday, Jan. 30 at 3:30PM.